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Event Sponsorships & Maximizing ROI

Kellie Mayrides Client Success Manager

Sponsorships are a crucial element of the event eco-system for organizers, sponsoring organizations and attendees, alike.  When done well, sponsorship activations foster valuable interactions between attendees and your company.

So let’s discuss how you can maximize ROI with your precious event sponsorship dollars, drawing from insights shared by our experts here at Event Strategy Group.

1. Don’t Wait to Discuss ROI: It’s essential to define and communicate goals for an event at the outset. Establish how you will measure success — whether through Net Promoter Score (NPS) at the booth, the number of leads gained, RSVPs, or actual attendance figures. Clear internal communication at the start ensures everyone is aligned on the objectives and that you’re measuring the KPI’s that actually matter post-show.
2. Focus on the Attendee: Brands have a lot to say to attendees, but ROI means ensuring the right content finds the right people (and demonstrating this exchange happened). Effective sponsorships focus on what will pull attendees to engage with your activation, rather than how to push the sponsor’s sales pitch to them. Strategies such as personalization and gamification can create experiences that will draw attendees in and stick with them after the event.
3. Leverage Event Technology: There are myriad options when choosing among event tech, but there are several types we keep coming back to:

• Personalization: Any event tech that enables personalization is one we’re all in on. A great example (and one we’ve pioneered) starts with insights gathered during event registration, that are then analyzed by AI, and both are then combined and used live onsite. Our clients are finding the results here to be a very powerful boost to their ROI.
• Micro Fencing: Digital fencing around targeted areas can notify attendees as they approach specific experiences, adding a layer of engagement and value for sponsors. Adding to this the personalization we mentioned above…you are now speaking our love language!
• Gamifying the Experience: Innovative uses of technology can extend even to your hotel key card! For one engagement, we put a QR code on attendees’ hotel key cards that provided them with daily event challenges and further integrated with personalized text messaging. This direct channel of communication deepened users’ experience with the event app and their curiosity with the brand and their offerings.

4. Approach Pay-to-Play Cautiously: Sponsorship offerings should be specific and aligned with the event’s content objectives. Sponsored speaking opportunities can be powerful engagements and can also be disasters, if attendees feel like they are simply sitting through a sales pitch. Too many paid speaking opportunities (say one right after the other) can quickly lead to a disjointed attendee experience they quickly tune out of. Have a clear understanding of what the organization is offering and ensure your content aligns with what the audience is expecting.

Demonstrating and maximizing event ROI can be done – we do it nearly every day! Interested in exploring any facet of the above in more detail? Need a fresh look at at your sponsorships or want to explore how event tech can support them? Reach out to us at info@esg.us.

Event Apps and Emerging Event Tech

Greg Beach VP Business Development

In today’s fast-paced event landscape, technology is revolutionizing how events are planned, executed, and experienced.

Event apps and emerging tech solutions are at the forefront, making lives easier for organizers and attendees alike. Here’s a closer look at why you should consider an event app and what new technologies are shaping the industry.

Why You Should Have an Event App

1. Streamlined Event Management

• Centralized Information: An event app consolidates all essential details—speaker information, schedules, venue maps, and more—into one accessible location. This not only reduces the need for printed materials, it also minimizes attendee queries, as they can find everything at their fingertips.
• Data Collection and Analytics: Event apps facilitate data collection and provide valuable insights, allowing you to make informed decisions and enhance future events by having a clear understanding of overall satisfaction and engagement levels.

2. Improved Attendee Engagement

• Real-Time Updates: Events often face last-minute changes. An event app makes it easier to communicate updates, ensuring attendees are always informed about time changes, new speakers, relocated sessions, and so much more.
• Personalized Experience: Attendees can create personalized schedules, receive reminders for those sessions, and highlight their profiles (like their LinkedIn) for networking purposes.

3. Monetization and Sponsorship Opportunities

• Branding and Ads: Event apps offer numerous branding opportunities, such as splash screens, banner ads, and virtual event booths, providing added value to sponsors.
• In-App Purchases: Attendees can quickly purchase access to specific sessions or events, such as when a new speaker is announced, enhancing their experience.

4. Sustainability

• Paperless Solutions: By reducing the need for printed materials, event apps contribute to sustainability efforts, making sponsors happy. Attendees can download presentation materials directly to their phones, promoting additional sharing and exposure.
• Digital Exhibits and Content: Event apps support digital exhibits, reducing the environmental impact of physical materials.

Choosing the Right Event App

Firstly, define the scale of your event and identify app features that are an absolute must (like schedule management, networking tools, venue mapping, etc.). Then focus on attendee experience – decide what type of content you primarily want them to see when they log in. Should it be content rich, brand heavy, or something else? Your goals here will greatly inform the solution you choose.

ESG’s Must-Haves for Any Event App

1. Agenda and Scheduling Management: Allow attendees to create personalized schedules.
2. Session Reminders: Timely reminders for sessions attendees registered for.
3. Real-Time Updates: Ensure accuracy for the entire event with a single source of truth.
4. Networking: Facilitate meaningful networking opportunities while at the event.
5. In-App Messaging: Enable attendees to communicate easily.
6. Gamification: Engage attendees with gamified elements that drive content goals.
7. Security and Privacy: Prioritize attendee data protection and privacy.
8. CRM Integration: For sales-focused events, ensure integration with your CRM tool.
9. Custom Branding: Support flash or HTML coding for brand-heavy events.

While high-budget apps offer numerous features, ensure you only pay for what you need to maximize ROI. It’s about getting the right features bells, than getting all of the bells and all of the whistles. A frequent example is ensuring an app’s existing platform can plug into your company’s CRM – finding exact questions like these and ensuring requisite replies will ensure you’re choosing the one that’s right for you.

Finally, ensure its accessibility and security meets today’s standards. Choose an app that complies with accessibility standards like WCAG and security / privacy standards like GDPR. Attendees and the companies they work for want to ensure both of these boxes are checked.

Adopting the right event app and leveraging emerging technologies can significantly enhance event management and attendee engagement. By carefully selecting features that align with your event’s goals, you can create a seamless and impactful experience for all participants.

Interested in learning more? Watch the entire replay below or send us a specific question about your event, and someone on our team will respond as soon as possible!

Registration: More than Data Collection

Greg Beach VP Business Development

Registration is the cornerstone of any successful event, but its utility extends far beyond merely signing up attendees. Our event techs at ESG breakdown how you can leverage registration tools throughout your event lifecycle to maximize engagement, streamline processes, and enhance the overall experience.

Expanding the Utility of Registration Tools

1. Starting Simply: Effective registration begins with a streamlined registration experience. Participants hate navigating through lengthy forms, so keeping it simple is key. Utilizing magic links can eliminate the hassle of passwords, making it easier for attendees to register. Additionally, ensure that every aspect of your registration site is tested thoroughly for broken links and bugs to avoid any technical hiccups.
2. Combining Registration and Event Portals: Creating a unified portal for registration and sponsors can provide significant value. Not only are there cost savings from merging two sites into one, but it also boosts engagement. Sponsors can select their booths, choose sponsorship levels, and upload their branding directly through the same portal. This integration also simplifies your back end data access and ultimately enables advanced reporting, providing real-time insights into registration numbers, payment statuses, cart abandonment, and so much more.
3. Extending Throughout the Event Experience: Savvy event agencies and companies are utilizing registration data beyond the initial sign-up, and to great affect in greatly enhancing attendee engagement. Pairing the personalized data gained from registration with an event app and technologies like QR codes, RFID, and Bluetooth can create amazingly seamless engagements for any event. Personalized agendas, location-based recommendations, and real-time messaging based on an attendee’s preferences will automatically turn up the onsite event engagement experience for any brand, and furthered even more by using AI…
4. Leveraging AI in the Registration Process: Companies are increasingly using AI to personalize attendee experiences. The data from a short questionnaire (4-5 questions max) that’s tied to client goals can then be used to segment our audiences live at an event. The same event tech then immediately lets our client know who’s walking up to them, helps them tailor their talking points, and customize their pitch. AI can also present tailor-made wayfinding suggestions for attendees while they’re at the event booth. The opportunities here are endless, but when done correctly, begin at the registration process!

Encouraging Attendee Registration

To boost registration rates and minimize drop-offs, consider strategies like:

• Chasing Abandoned Registrations: Use reports to identify and follow up on incomplete registrations.
• Incentives: Offer early bird pricing or enter registrants into a raffle to encourage sign-ups.
• Drip Campaigns: Gradually release information about the event, such as keynote speakers and special sessions, to maintain interest and drive registrations during lull periods.

The registration process is much more than a gateway to your event—it’s a powerful tool that can drive engagement, streamline operations, and enhance the overall attendee experience. By integrating advanced technologies and leveraging AI, you can transform your event into a seamless and memorable experience for all participants.

Virtual Events that Deliver Value: A Tech Trek Recap

Greg Beach VP Business Development

The pandemic accelerated the evolution of event technology, pushing companies like ours to quickly adapt, scale, and invest in this booming sector. As we navigated our collective way out of COVID-19, the pendulum swung almost fully back in the opposite direction as attendees were motivated to return to in-person, physical events.

Today, we are finding a true equilibrium – one that incorporates both virtual events and physical ones into our clients’ ongoing event strategy. Virtual events will continue playing a role for brands connecting with audiences, as they offer several advantages:

1. Extended Reach: There’s no geographical barrier, allowing broader audience participation from anywhere.
2. Content Maximization: Content created for virtual events can be repurposed across social media and other channels – and done so with more ease and speed than in-person.
3. Cost Savings: Virtual events are frequently more cost-effective than in-person gatherings.
4. Sustainability: Virtual events contribute to sustainability goals by reducing carbon footprint, a growing concern to our industry and our clients’ environmental, social, and governance goals.
5. Metrics and Analytics: Virtual platforms provide robust data capture, offering valuable insights into attendee engagement and behavior.

For complex virtual events, the planning process mirrors that of in-person events. Meanwhile, simpler events (like webinars) can be organized swiftly without extensive preparation. At Event Strategy Group, we work with clients to find the right combination of technology and format that aligns with their budgets and objectives.

Audience Expectations and Engagement

Capturing and retaining attention is a universal challenge and audiences expect unique and engaging experiences, whether they’re attending in person or virtually. For digital events, incorporating interactive elements like having a DJ, a wellness activity, or a culinary experience can enhance event attendee engagement and deliver the exact experience a brand is looking for in an effective manner.

Debunking Zoom Fatigue

The concept of “Zoom fatigue” has been widely discussed, but it’s important to recognize that the challenge of engaging presentations and effective speaker coaching exists in both virtual and in-person events. The key is to curate content for the medium to ensure speakers are well-prepared, regardless of the format.

Broadcasting Technologies

Partnering with a company like ESG allows us to select and deploy the right technology for the exact type of attendee experience needed, and integrating it seamlessly within your company’s systems and branding. Our goal is to simplify the technical aspects so you can concentrate on content and communication, mirroring the value proposition of in-person events.

Virtual events are a tactic that continue delivering value and should be strategically incorporated along with an in-person event strategy. Understanding when to deploy each format and embracing virtual as a permanent part of your toolkit going forward will ensure your brand’s event strategy is more impactful and engaging than ever.

ESG and Fivestone Studios Intelligently Accelerate AI Journeys for Lenovo’s VIP Customers

Greg Beach VP Business Development

Attendees at Lenovo’s annual innovation showcase, Tech World ‘24, experienced artificial intelligence (AI) in a way few others have been able to thanks to Event Strategy Group (ESG), a leading event agency, and Fivestone Studio’s custom creation of the AI Journey Accelerator. The immersive experience reflects Tech World’s remarkable history of innovation and transformation, and fully demonstrates this year’s theme, “Smarter AI for All.”

With Lenovo’s technology and hardware solutions leading the show, the ESG and Fivestone teams sought to develop a curated experience that matched the event’s main attractions. Enter one of Tech World’s most exciting innovations: the Lenovo Solutions and Services Group’s AI Journey Accelerator, a definitive next-generation digital photo booth experience powered by generative AI.

“We hear about AI all the time, but we don’t necessarily get to interact with it,” said Sarah Babb, Creative Director at ESG. “We wanted to tailor-make an experience that embraces AI to showcase Lenovo technology while telling Lenovo’s full Smarter AI for All story — from solutions and services to infrastructure and devices. We also just wanted our attendees to have some fun! The AI Journey Accelerator is a proprietary solution that checks all three boxes: it combines a set of interactive questions with a Stable Diffusion image generation model to determine where participants are in their current AI adoption process, provides personalized insights and resources, and a one-of-a-kind generative AI portrait—all run locally on Lenovo hardware.”

“This project marks Fivestone’s foray into customer-facing, AI-powered experiences, setting a new standard for interactive technology engagement,” said Fivestone Studios Partner and Executive Creative Director Traylor Woodall. “Most studios are now leveraging AI for ideation and efficiency behind the scenes, but we brought it front-and-center by crafting an immersive branded experience that showcases Lenovo’s processing power while also redefining what a photobooth can be in the digital age. By merging creative AI with user-friendly design, we’ve expanded the creative potential for participants, giving them a tangible, memorable keepsake that blends art, technology, and strategic interaction in groundbreaking ways.”

With more than half of Tech World ’24 attendees engaging with the tool, the AI Journey Accelerator is becoming a permanent feature of Lenovo’s trade show presence moving forward.

Creating the AI Journey Accelerator
To demonstrate Lenovo’s AI processing power in each engagement, the teams had the privilege of harnessing the brand’s industry-leading hardware, running the experience on a Lenovo ThinkStation P8 Workstation. For everyone involved, this ensured seamless local performance in photo capture, AI processing, and image generation.

The team worked with Lenovo to identify five key personas representing unique stages in customers’ AI adoption journeys. For these Investigator, Navigator, Catalyst, Coach, and Achiever personas, designers crafted custom logos and themes aligned with Lenovo’s brand guidelines. Fivestone also offered style options showcasing AI’s creative flexibility, from painterly brushstrokes to futuristic, three-dimensional interpretations.

Understandably, the team’s process for addressing this unique challenge involved exhaustive use of the latest developments in generative AI. For the customized AI photos delivered through the AI Journey Accelerator, Fivestone’s team first ran extensive tests using existing generative AI image systems, as well as custom-built options, to optimize workflows. “The magical part of an AI photobooth is how it interprets the source image by reimagining composition, lighting, and style,” said Justin Eslinger, Director of Creative Technology for Fivestone Studios. “Especially when the expectation is a perfectly branded image on the first try, every time, the main challenges are in consistency and control. Getting everything right requires a lot of testing with a variety of people and environments … and an artistic eye and hand to help sculpt the final result.”

Next, to develop the front-end kiosk application, the team streamlined the development pipeline by using the Unity Game Engine. With its Node.js backend, the finished application manages AI generation requests via Stable Diffusion, marketing email capture, image storage, and customer email delivery.

About Event Strategy Group
Since ESG’s founding more than two decades ago, we’ve produced thousands of corporate events. Massive ones, small ones, and somewhere-in-between ones. Digital. In-person. Hybrid. Regardless of format, events need to move the needle. ESG helps brands accelerate sales cycles and deepen their customer relationships. Find out what getting “it” done for clients means and visit us at www.esg.us.

About Fivestone Studios
Fivestone is an immersive multimedia studio that leverages design, technology and storytelling to create wonder and drive human connection. Drawing strength from five shared cultural touchstones – Honor, Bravery, Vision, Generosity, and Excellence – our groundbreaking multidisciplinary talents passionately resolve giant-sized storytelling challenges using emerging technologies and patent processes. Learn more at https://fivestonestudios.com: What can we help you create?

The Science Behind Storytelling

Greg Beach VP Business Development

Crafting a compelling, genuine story as a central theme is one of the best things you can do for the success of your event. This statement might be bold, but it’s based on more than just anecdotal evidence — we’ve got science to back us up! Read on to learn why storytelling at events is one of the most effective communication tools you can use to reach your most valuable audiences — even in virtual or hybrid formats.

Every brand has a story to tell

Emotion is attention, in that connecting with your audience on an emotional level will significantly increase attention span and recall. So how do you make those connections? The answer lies in storytelling. Every brand has a story to tell, and live events are the perfect venue to tell them — a group of mostly like-minded individuals, waiting with bated breath to hear what you have to say during the keynote? It’s the salesperson’s dream.

To be clear, story ≠ sales pitch

This is the most common misstep we see made during presentations, as the two are easily confused. However, whereas salespitches are often laden with facts and statistics, maybe with a customer testimony thrown into the mix, stories are focused on painting a robust picture with context and examples. If a sales pitch is a 2D animation, a story is a virtual reality simulation. Both are valuable, both have their place. But where sales pitches appeal to our logical brains (often combined with a healthy dose of skepticism), stories appeal to our emotions — and are incredibly memorable, persuasive and captivating as a result.

The miracle of mirror neurons

Many factors contribute to why storytelling is so effective at grabbing and retaining attention, but at the heart of it is some unique biology called mirror neurons. These special brain cells fire not only when we perform an action, but when we observe someone else perform that same action as well. That is, our brains light up in the same places and release the exact same chemicals when we watch someone do something, as if we were doing it ourselves.

On a base level, this is part of what accounts for human empathy. We all know the feeling of witnessing someone wipe out, wincing vicariously through their pain. We’ve all watched delicious food being prepared and eaten on TV, our mouths watering as if we were there in the kitchen with the chefs. On a more applicable level for events, we can learn to leverage this naturally occurring, miraculous phenomenon when communicating our most valuable information to key audiences.

Storytelling is effective because mirror neurons don’t just rely on visual cues — they respond incredibly well to spoken word as well. When our mirror neurons fire while listening to a compelling (read: emotional) story, our brains release a mix of dopamine, oxytocin and cortisol; the hormones linked to memory and information processing, social bonding, and our bodies’ alert systems, respectively. Basically, we’re hooked. Psychologists call this experience “narrative transportation” — the feeling where the world falls away and we are completely engrossed in the story we are witnessing. How’s that for audience retention?

Make it memorable

The narrative model has been proven to aid in recall, and humans have been using stories as memory devices since the beginning of time. Think back to grade school and your favorite mnemonic device. It’s much easier to remember My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas, then say, the precise order of planets in our solar system. After images and scenes, the next thing our brains remember is emotion, and after that, dialogue and facts. So if emotion is attention, and narrative is memory, then an emotional narrative makes for one whammy of a presentation!

Make it memorable

With powerful storytelling at your event, you can begin to turn curiosity into brand loyalty, and brand loyalty into the coveted brand advocacy. Bottom line: stories humanize your event. They give it a personality and speak to your audience on a deeper level than traditional corporate rhetoric. Want your audience to remember something? Hit them in the feels. You have the power to persuade, increase engagement, inspire action, and influence behavioral changes in your audience — all through storytelling.

P.S. Need help with crafting your story? We can help. Contact us today.

Five Things to Include for a Successful Sales Kickoff Agenda

Greg Beach VP Business Development

While you are planning your sales kickoff agenda, there are key components to keep in mind. An ideal sales kickoff agenda lays out a creatively woven tapestry of great speakers, engaging breakout sessions, well-timed networking opportunities and effective team building exercises — all focused on precisely what your salespeople need. Easy, right? (Fear not, we’re here to help).

Five critical areas of focus for your kickoff agenda should be:

1. Top-performing sales success stories
2. Sales development training
3. Product training
4. Networking
5. A high-level review of the previous year

Sales success stories

Recent research has shown that only 21 percent of company executives feel as though sales reps have relevant examples to share with them on sales calls. This not only hurts your company’s reputability, but could also prevent your sales reps from closing the deal. How to fix this?

Instead of the traditional kickoff model of a business exec giving a single keynote presentation, leverage the heavy-hitting presentation model of storytelling by way of your top performers. Have your top salespeople share their own experiences, tips and stories of successful sales in a live panel discussion with room for questions. The benefits of this are two-fold: top performers will feel that their efforts are recognized and appreciated, and all sales reps will receive relevant, valuable information to apply to their own sales techniques.

Storytelling is a powerful tool in connecting with and retaining your audience’s attention — whether they are your customers or your own employees. Make sure your speakers use engaging presentation techniques to keep the attention of their fellow sales reps with our top recommendations. Once the event is over, you can turn the success stories that were shared during kickoff into case studies that can be distributed among your staff for future reference.

Development training

A sales kickoff event is the perfect time to schedule some tactical sales training sessions. The most successful sales reps never stop learning the newest techniques, so giving your staff valuable training will help them grow as individuals and within your team. Additionally, try providing training in areas that are more than just sales such as marketing, increasing engagement, and hard skills that are job-specific. Mixing in some soft skills, such as effective communication techniques, listening skills and empathy will go a long way in sales negotiations. If your kickoff event is held over multiple days, try splitting up the sessions so that each day has a session and each session matches up with your kickoff theme.

Product training

An exceptional salesperson could probably sell a product they have no idea how to use or operate. However, even the best salesperson will be an even better seller if they grasp the concept of the product. A sales kickoff meeting is a great time to train your staff on the newest product updates, features and expansions. Spend some time going over the existing product line, and how it can be utilized for your ideal customer during breakout sessions. Explain what has been updated, and how your customer will benefit. If there are new features, walk your team through how to use them. If your sales line has expanded, show off the new products.

We recommend breaking up the training sessions into chunks no longer than 30 minutes, if only just to get up and stretch for five minutes before sitting back down to continue the session. On average, people only actively listen during seven out of every 60 minutes of a presentation. Out of those seven minutes spent actively listening, of what is heard is forgotten within 72 hours. Breaking up substantial chunks of technical information will help to increase your salespeople’s retention. From the company whose core brand values include having fun, we recommend making the training sessions as fun as possible. Life is short! Vary up the subject matter, and if possible, include audience participation.

Networking

Networking is vitally important in both your sales process and your kickoff meeting. Having the time to network and build relationships within your organization and team can help to bolster morale and strengthen the bond your team has with each other. Networking, especially among entry- and middle-level employees and upper management, can help to share the vision of your sales goals and fortify the relationships that your team has with the company. This is an opportunity for your sales reps to make connections with people they may not regularly see, mingle, and share ideas with. You never know who someone might meet that will help them close a deal!

Previous year review

Showcase how well you did last year, and also make sure to mix in those areas with room for improvement. This is also the time to point out your competitors and how they’re doing, as well as brainstorm how you can beat them (or leave them in the dust). Product developments and reinforcement of sales goals will help to align the meeting content with your overall business objectives. At the end (of your review, and of the kickoff meeting), make sure you reinforce the theme and what everyone has learned with new learning materials, handouts and questionnaires. Videos of the sessions and recaps of the key points from each panel or breakout will help to keep everything top of mind as your salespeople and company head into this new sales season.

Are you ready to deliver a high-impact and original sales kickoff experience? Let our professionals at ESG help create lasting impressions, memories, relationships and connections in one fantastic event. Contact us today to learn more!